Well, let me tell ya ’bout this fella, Don Werner, the baseball guy. Don somethin’-or-other Werner, that’s his full name, I reckon. Born way back in 1953, March 8th it was, in a place called Appleton, Wisconsin. Sounds cold, don’t it? Anyway, this fella, he played baseball, you know, the kind with the bats and the balls and all that runnin’ around. He was a catcher, that means he squatted down a whole bunch, must’ve had strong legs, I tell ya.
Now, Don, he wasn’t just any ol’ baseball player, no sirree. He made it to the big leagues, the Major League Baseball they call it. Played for seven seasons up there with the big boys. That’s a long time to be hittin’ and catchin’, I’d say. Heard tell he played for a total of 18 seasons, countin’ all them minor leagues and such. Must’ve loved that baseball somethin’ fierce.
- Born: March 8, 1953
- Place of Birth: Appleton, Wisconsin
- Position: Catcher
- Bats: Right
- Throws: Right
- Height: 6-1 (that’s pretty tall, I guess)
- Weight: 175lb
They say he got started young, drafted in 1971 by the Cincinnati Reds. That’s a team, you know, like them football teams, only they play baseball. Fifth round pick, they say. Don’t know much about that draft stuff, sounds fancy though. He finally made it to the big leagues when he was 22, September 2nd, I think. Young fella, chasin’ his dream.
Don, he played in 118 of them big league games. That’s a lot of games, gotta travel all over the place, I bet. He even caught a no-hitter once, they say. That’s a big deal in baseball, when the pitcher don’t let nobody get a hit. Happened in 1978, with a fella named Tom Seaver, a famous pitcher, they say. Don, he was the catcher that day, so he must’ve done somethin’ right.
And get this, the man hit home runs too! Not a whole bunch, mind you, but enough to make folks cheer, I reckon. Two solo shots they say. That means nobody was on base when he hit ’em. Still counts though, a home run’s a home run, no matter how ya slice it. Hit ’em off two different pitchers, too. Guess those pitchers weren’t too happy about that.
Now, I heard tell findin’ stuff ’bout folks who ain’t around no more can be tough. They say lookin’ at them obituary things, you know, when someone passes away, can tell ya a lot. Like a family tree, they say. But Don, he ain’t passed yet, as far as I know. He’s still out there, maybe fishin’ or somethin’. Hope he’s doin’ alright, that Don Werner.
I also heard some folks talkin’ ’bout how hard it is to find, like, uh, computer games and stuff about old baseball players. Somethin’ about a “legit version” and DLCs. Sounded expensive and complicated. Don’t know nothin’ about that computer stuff myself. Just makes my head spin. But I guess if you really wanted somethin’ like that, you gotta pay the price, just like Don paid the price to play all them years of baseball.
So that’s the story of Don Werner, as best as I can tell it. A baseball catcher, played a long time, hit some homers, caught a no-hitter, and came from a place called Appleton. A good fella, I reckon, even though I never met him. Just goes to show, you work hard, you can do somethin’ special, even if it’s just hittin’ a ball with a stick and catchin’ it.
